Have you ever watched a Batman movie and thought to yourself “Man, that Alfred is one fastidious butler. He’s also weirdly loyal to the guy who treats him like crap, forces him to work all day and all night, and goes around beating up dudes dressed like clowns and penguins. What is his deal?” You have? Wow, I’m really good at reading people. And good news! Your dream TV show is coming.

It is called Pennyworth, and it is about Alfred Pennyworth, Batman’s loyal manservant, in his days prior to his job in the Batcave. The press release claims this Alfred — who will be played by Jack Bannon — is “a former British SAS soldier in his 20s, who forms a security company and goes to work with a young billionaire Thomas Wayne, who’s not yet Bruce’s father, in 1960s London.”

Though the Alfreds of the movies tend to be older, grandfatherly dudes, this Alfred will be “a boyishly handsome, cheerful, charming, clever young man”:

Honest, open-faced and witty; you'd never take him for an SAS killer. Alfred doesn't know how to reconcile the kind-hearted boy he used to be with the cold, calculated killer he was forced to become. He's a man on the make, who doesn't know what to make of himself yet.

So this Alfred is basically young Michael Caine, not old Michael Caine.

Ah the duality of Aflred — extremely helpful guy who doesn’t mind cleaning your dirty underwear and badass dude who doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty with the blood of his enemies — much like the duality of Batman/Bruce Wayne. No wonder they get along so well!

Pennyworth goes into production in the UK next week. The show is planned for ten one-hour episodes and will premiere on EPIX.

UPDATE: Warner Horizon also announced they’ve cast Ben Aldridge as Pennyworth’s Thomas Wayne. On the show, the elder Wayne will be “ a young, fresh-faced billionaire hailing from the east coast of the United States. Confident and extremely disciplined, this young aristocrat meets an unlikely business partner in Alfred Pennyworth.”

Warner Bros.

What are the odds this guy at some point in the show puts on a cape and mask and calls himself The Dark Evening or something like that?